Students earn prestigious Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards

Student winners of the 48th annual Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards traveled to Washington, D.C. to receive their honors on May 25.  Becca Kristofferson, Jacob Jaeger, Dylan Goodman and Seamus Levin won in the broadcast category for “The Jellybean Jar of Life: Nick’s Story.” They attend Mexico High School in Mexico, Missouri. Anthony Kristensen, earned recognition in the print category for “What One Family Could Never Forget.” He attends Francis Howell North High School in St. Charles, Missouri.

“When I first found out, it was pretty surreal,” said Kristensen. “I felt on top of the world and it was great!”

The Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards committee selects winners from hundreds of entries in nine professional categories and one college category, as well as the two high school categories. Entries focus reporting on human rights, social justice, and the power of individual action.

Mexico High School students Dylan Goodman, Jacob Jaeger, Becca Kristofferson and Levin Semus with their adviser, Jami Williams learn they won the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award.
Mexico High School’s Dylan Goodman, Jacob Jaeger, Becca Kristofferson and Seamus Levin with adviser, Mrs. Jami Williams

Mexico High School’s entry illuminated the positive relationship between Nick Cook and his Jellybean Speech Olympics peer coach, Callie Cox. The Jellybean Speech Olympics showcase the talents of students with special needs and began after theatre students at Mexico High School performed the Jellybean Conspiracy.

“The story came about when a student started talking with Nick and Callie,” said Kristofferson, a sophomore at Mexico High School, who edited and produced the award-winning broadcast piece.

 

Mr. Aaron Manfull, media adviser, and Anthony Kristensen, student winner, celebrate after the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards ceremony
Francis Howell North High School’s media adviser, Mr. Aaron Manfull with Anthony Kristensen

Francis Howell North’s Kristensen, wrote his award-wining story when his staff prepared a special edition about families. In “What One Family Could Never Forget,” Kristensen chronicles the journey of fellow student, Mensur Koso, and his family as they fled war-torn Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990s, eventually arriving in St. Louis. Kristensen said the story idea came to him after some brainstorming on his own.

“I wanted to write something that really meant something,’ said Kristensen. “I thought there’s a lot of Bosnian immigrants in St. Louis.”

Students from both schools overcame many challenges to complete their reporting and turn in award-winning work.

“I had to learn about the war itself because it started and ended before I was born,” said Kristensen, who did a lot of research and studying to make sure he had enough background information before he wrote the story.

Mexico High School used creativity to solve equipment problems and produce their award-winning video. Since the school had no camera dolly, the students rigged a physical education class scooter and strapped a video camera to a student on the scooter to capture the opening shot of the video. Students also taped $3 microphones purchased on Amazon to the stage floor to capture natural sound.

During the awards ceremony at the Newseum Institute in Washington, D.C., the students’ stories streamed alongside clips from stories by professional and college winners.

“Seeing the student’s faces when their segment played and they realized, at that point, that it had been incredibly difficult, but it was incredibly worth it, that was the full circle of the teaching cycle, and we don’t get to see that very often,” said Jami Williams, digital media and journalism teacher at Mexico High School.

This is the first year students from Mexico High School entered and won the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award. Kristensen is the fourth recipient from Francis Howell North High School, although awards are never the focus of the classroom or project, according to his media adviser, Aaron Manfull.

“They just kind of happen,” said Manfull. “Personally, I work to put each student on staff on an individualized plan. I work to find what they are passionate about and want to learn and find a spot accordingly for them. My thought is that if they are in a spot where they want to be, they will be more likely to do the work required of them and do it well.”

Mexico High School media adviser, Williams also doesn’t focus on awards, but on teamwork and creative storytelling — being recognized for hard work was an added bonus, she said.

“The best part of it was being in the same room with the amazing hearts and minds who are using journalism the right way,” said Williams. “To know that you’re sharing the same air with some of the most courageous people in the world, to be able to share that experience with your students is just beyond anything that any teacher could hope for.”

Students from both high schools credited their team members and advisers for their success. Kristensen also encouraged students to apply for as many awards as possible just to have the opportunity to have their work looked over by selection committees.

“Go for it,” he said. “You never really know what’s going to happen!”